Apparatus for producing perforated paper



Jan. 2, 1934.

' J. F. HAWLEY APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING PERFORATED PAPER Filed Nov. 27 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet l 1934- J. F. HAWLEY 1,942,168

APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING PERFORATED PAPER Filed Nov. 27 1929 s Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 2, 1934. J. F. HAWLEY APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING PERFORATED PAPER Filed Nov. 27 1929 3'Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Jan. 2, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING PERFO- RATED PAPER tion of Illinois Application November 27, 1929 Serial No. 410,065

12 Claims.

This invention relates in general to an apparatus for centering predetermined portions of paper being prepared for use, such as in packaging, and has broadly for an object the efficient centering of predetermined portions of paper by perforating it before the paper is prepared for a subsequent operation, such as printing or packaging, and the provision of novel apparatus for perforating the paper about the predetermined centers and for providing indicia and grip apertures for a subsequent operation onthe paper.

An important object of the invention resides in providing a reliable centering mechanism, synchronously driven with a printing press, which will perforate the paper about predetermined centers, subsequently to receive such printed matter as labels or advertising matter, providing against irregularly spaced labels caused by periodic slackening of the paper due to back-lashing of the driving gears and the variable factor of friction between the paper and the printing roll.

Another important object of the invention is the provision of an accurate centering mechanism for waxed or other packaging paper which is to have labels or advertising matter imprinted thereon preparatory to the packaging of the paper by cutting or folding between adjacent labels.

Still another important object of the invention is the provision of novel apparatus for perforating waxed or other packaging paper about predetermined centers and for thereafter passing the paper to a. printing press driven at the same speed as the apparatus for printing the labels.

centrally of the perforations, and providing such apparatus with means for disposing of the paper punched from the perforations.

An important object of the invention is the provision of companion die cylinders in conjunction with a printing press and driven at the same speed therewith, one of which is axially adjustable and the other of which is adjustable about its axis to permit relative adjustment between the dies carried by one of the cylinders and the surface of the other cylinder.

Another important object of the invention is the provision of a paper perforating mechanism having companion die. cylinders, one of which carries a plurality of dies, and providing the die-carrying cylinder with a plurality of alternate die positions which will permit adjustment of the dies to adjust the perforations made thereby transversely and longitudinally of the paper passing between the cylinders.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a printing press embodying the principles of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a piece of paper showing the centering apertures with respect to the printed matter after it has passed through the perforating mechanism and the printing press;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged elevational view of the perforating cylinders shown in Fig. 1;

' Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a -die adaptable for use on the perforating cylinders of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3;

Fig. '7 is a partial section taken substantially on the line 7'7 of Fig. 3, and

Fig. 8 is a section taken substantially on the line 8-8 of Fig. 6.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, the drawings .show a perforating mechanism, designated generally by the reference character 11 and driven synchronously with a printing press, shown'schematically at 12 in Fig. 1, for perforating waxed or other packaging paper 13, 90 whereby to center the printed matter with respect to the perforations, such printed matter being subsequently applied to the paper in the press. It will be understood, however, that the application of the present invention is not confined to use in conjunction with printing presses nor to use on a particular kind of paper but contemplates other useful and broader applications.

In printing labels or advertising matter, or in applying designs to packaging paper preparatory to the final packaging operation of cutting or folding the paper to the desired size, it is important that spacing irregularities between designs be prevented because such irregularities are cumulative, resulting at times in shorts of from 30 to 40 feet at the end of the roll. These irregularities in spacing of designs or labels are or may be caused by backdashing of gears, which drive the paper rolls or by the paper stretching,

' supporting the cylinder 14.

and may be the source of losses in time, labor and material.

This invention, therefore, contemplates dividing the paper into uniform portions which are I bounded by perforations or indicia made in the paper before it is supplied to a printing press at uniform tensionand speed so that the labels or designs are imprinted on the paper within the bounds of the indicia and are properly spaced tions, or bounding indicia, and for various nice adjustments, as will hereinafter be described.

A die base cylinder or roll 14 is adapted to be driven by any suitable means, such as a gear 15, on a shaft 16, the gear 15 meshing with a gear 17 which is carried. on a shaft 18 supported in bearings 19 which are provided in frame members 21 of the printing press 12, the shaft 18 The cylinder 14 is companion to a hollow die carrying cylinder or roll 22 adjacent thereto for carrying dies to perforate the paper and is supported by a hollow, outwardly extending shaft 23 provided at each end of the cylinder and carried in bearings 24 on the frame members 21. This shaft 23 communicates through its passage 25 with the interior of the cylinder, providing means through which the contents of the cylinder may be removed, and has an end extending beyond the bearing 24 to carry a gear 17 already described.

The gear 15 on the shaft 16 for driving the cylinders 14 and 21 is adapted to be driven through a chain of gearing from a shaft 32. This chain of gearing comprises a spur gear 28 fixed upon shaft 16, an idler gear 29 and a spur ear 31 fixed on shaft 32. Reference indicia is or may be provided upon gears 28, 29 and 31 to facilitate arrangement of the parts of the apparatus in desired starting registration. The shaft 32 carries a gear 33 which is driven from a drive shaft 34 of a printing press 12 in turn supplied with power from any suitable source (not shown).

For further convenience of illustrating the apparatus of the invention, a shaft 35 driven from the shaft 16 by means of a chain 36 and sprocket 37 is shown in Fig. l for rewinding the paper 13 after it has passed through the printing press 12.

Thus, the paper 13 is supplied from a suitable source over a series of rolls beginning by passing between suitable rolls carried bythe shafts 32 and 34, thence around the cylinder 14 and between it and the die-carrying cylinder 22.

A'plurality of perforating dies 38 (shown particularly in Fig. 5) are positioned about the die carrying cylinder 22 and have passages 39 communicating with the interior of the die-carrying cylinder. These dies perforate the paper as at 41 (illustrated in Fig. 2) and the paper punched from the perforations passes through the die passages and is collected within the cylinder 22 from which it may be removed in any suitable manner through the hollow shaft 25. It will be observed that the perforations 41 are uniformly spaced transversely and longitudinally of the paper 13 so that designs or labels 42 may be applied within the bounds of the perforations by platen and impression rolls 43 and 44 of the printing press 12.

The paper 13 is thus passed through the printing press having the required number of platen and impression rolls 43 and, 44 to an idler roll 45 gear 26 driven by the,

from which it is or may be passed to the rewinding roll 35 as shown in Fig. 1. The series of rolls or cylinders and the perforating cylinders 14 and 22 serve to keep the paper at a uniform tension throughout the perforating and printing operations and the perforating rolls are driven to provide the paper with the same linear speed as that in the printing press, so that the designs or labels may be accurately centered with respect to the perforations 41. It will be understood that the paper from the roll 45 may then be passed to a packaging machine for cutting or folding the paper to the desired sizes and that the perforations 41 provide not only indicia for such folding or cutting but also grip apertures for the packaging machine.

Adjustment of the dies 38 longitudinally and transversely with respect to the paper 13, providing adjustment between the dies and the die base cylinder, and adjustment of the cylinders 14 and 22 axially and peripherally, respectively, are provided for purposes which will hereinafter becomeapparent. The die base roll 14, it will be understood, may be of solid construction without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention, or, as shown in detail in Figs. 3, 6 and 3, may have preferably a cored cylin- .der 47 carried on the shaft 18 by means of sleeves or bushings 48 having portions 49 extending inwardly of the cylinder 47 for supporting it on the shaft.

a The cylinder 47 is adapted'to receive a plurality of collars or discs 51 of any suitable material, those shown being constructed of wood having the grain ends directed outwardly to prevent splintering by the dies 38. The discs 51 comprise a plurality of wooden segments 52 secured by bolts 53 to circular metal rings 54 adapted to be received on the cylinder 47. For this purpose, the segments 52 are made Ir-shaped in section so that the discs 54 and the heads of the bolts 53 are arranged between adjacent vertical T-legs internally of a wooden cylindrical wall 55, as shown in Fig. 6. This fabricated cylinder is provided with a keyway 56 to register with a corresponding keyway 57 on the cylinder 47 for receiving a key 58 to assure rotation of the wooden cylinder with the cylinder 47. The discs or collars 51 are held on the cylinder 47 by means of nuts 59 engaging threads 61 near each end of the cylinder 47, which is provided with shoulders 62 outwardly of the threads 61 to receive bearers 63 provided to co-operate with corresponding bearers 64 of the die-carrying cylinderto effect spacing between the cylinders 14 and 22 for the passage of the paper 13.-

The bearer 63 is held on the end of the cylinder 47 by means of suitable bolts 65 engaging through the bearer and into the shoulder 62 of the cylinder. A split friction collar or sleeve 66 is provided on the shaft 18 between each bearer and the adjacent shaft bearing 19 for holding the bushing or collar 49 in place, the split collar being adapted to be clamped about the shaft and retained in place by means of a through bolt 67. Threaded engagement of the cylinder 47 by the nuts 59 at the ends of the fabricated cylinder 55 permits adiustment of the fabricated cylinder 55 axially of the cylinder 47 to provide against damage to the surface of the cylinder, caused by repeated piercing by the dies 38 in the same places, and to permit ready substitution-of cylinder segments as may be required. As before stated, the cylinder 22 provides for adjustment of the dies 38 to permit desirable 150 spacing for various sizes of labels or designs. To this'end, the cylinder 22 is provided with a plurality of peripheral grooves 68 spaced axially of the cylinder and adapted to receive the dies 38. It will be understood that while the drawings show spaced grooves, other groove arrangements, such as spirally of the cylinder, are also contemplated as coming within the scope of the present invention. A plurality of apertures 69 are provided in the grooves 68 and extend into ,the cylinder forming a communication therewith for co-operation with the passage 39 of the dies 38 to permit collection of the paper punched from the perforations within the cylinder. The dies 38 are thus provided with a plurality of positions peripherally of the cylinder 11 in each groove to provide spacing adjustment for the perforations longitudinally of the paper, and may be heldthereon by screws 71 passing through slots 72 in each end of the dies 38 and threading into the walls of the cylinder 11, as shown at 73 in Fig. '7. Each die 38 is provided with an outstanding cutting edge 74 surrounding the pas-, sage 39 and adapted to pierce through the paper 13 and into the wooden cylindrical surface 55 as the rolls 14 and 22 are driven from the printing press. It will be manifest that alternate grooves 68 may be employed to carry dies 38 to provide spacing adjustment for the perforations transversely of the paper 13.

The cylinder 22 is formed with the shaft 23 extending outwardly from each end and the bearer 64 is carried by the shaft at the end of the cylinder 22 to ride on the corresponding bearer 63 of the cylinder 14. This shaft 23, as mentioned before, is hollow and extends outwardly to provide means for removing from the cylinder the paper punched from the perforations and collected in the cylinder 22, and carries near one end the gear 26 driven by the gear 17 on the shaft 18.

The gear 26 is provided with a plurality of slots 75 outwardly of the center and concentric with the gear for receiving bolts 76 extending through the slots 75 and threading into a collar or bushing '77 adapted to impart rotation to the shaft 23. Such a mounting of the gear 26 permits peripheral adjustment of the cylinder 22 by loosening the bolts 76 and turning the cylinder 22, so that the dies 38 will not register with the previous punchings in the surface of the cylinder 55.

The alternate positions of the dies 38 peripherally and axially of the cylinder 22 provide means for centering advertising matter or designs of variable dimensions and adjustment of the two cylinders is provided to prevent damage to the relatively soft surface of the die base cylinder and to present a smooth portion of the last said cylinder to the cutting edges of the dies, effecting smooth, clean perforation.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arranagement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim: l

1. A printing press in combination with a hollow cylinder provided with a plurality of dies for perforating paper about predetermined centers,

a die base cylinder co-operating with said dies to perforate the paper, said dies being adapted to pierce through said paper and into said base cylinder, and means for axially adjusting said base cylinder 'to prevent repeated piercing thereof in the same place by said dies.

2. A printing press in combination with. a hollow cylinder provided with a plurality of dies for perforating paper about predetermined centers, an axially adjustable die base cylinder cooperating with said dies to perforate paper, said dies beingadapted to pierce through said paper and into said base cylinder, and means for adjusting said hollow cylinder about its axis to cooperate with said adjustable base cylinder to provide relative adjustment of said dies and said base cylinder, thereby preventing repeated pierc ing thereof in the same place by said dies.

3. A printing press in combination with a hollow cylinder and a base cylinder, adapted to be driven synchronously with said press and to engage paper for the press therebetween, a plurality of dies for perforating the paper positionable in a plurality of spaced positions on said hollow cylinderand providing passages for the paper the printing of labels upon package wrappers and the like, and a punching mechanism comprising a die carrying cylinder and a die base cylinder associated with said printing press for punching shearing indicia in said web, and means actuating said punching mechanism in timed relation with the movement of said printing rolls.

5. A combination of a printing press having a plurality of printing rolls through which a continuous web of paper is adapted to bepassed for the printing of labels upon package wrappers and the like, and a punching mechanism comprising a die carrying cylinder and a die base cylinder associated with said printing press for punching shearing indicia in said web, and means actuating said punching mechanism in timed relation with the movement of said printing rolls, said punching mechanism being arranged in advance of said printing rolls.

6. A combination of a printing press' having a plurality of printing rolls through which a continuous web of paper is adapted to be passed for the printing of labels upon package wrappers and the like, and a punching mechanism comprising an adjustable die carrying cylinder and a die base cylinder associated with said printing press for punching shearing indicia in said web, and means actuating said punching mechanism in timed relation with the movement of said rolls.

'7. A combination of a printing press having a plurality of printing rolls through which a continuous web of paper is adapted to be passed for the printing of labels upon package wrappers and the like, and a punching mechanism comprising 5 nism in timed relation with themovement of said rolls.

9. A printing press in combination with a hollow cylinder and. a base cylinder adapted to be driven synchronously with said printing press to engage paper for the press therebetween, a plurality 01 dies for perforating the paper positionable in a plurality oi spaced positions on said hollow cylinder and providing passages for the paper punched'by said dies and communicating with the interior of said cylinder, means for removing the punched paper irom inside said hollow cylinder, and means for adjusting said hollow cylinder about its axis.

10. A printing press in combination with a hollow cylinder and a base cylinder adapted to be driven synchronously with said printing press to engage paper for the press therebetween, a plu-= rality of diesior perforating the paper positionable ln a plurality of spaced positions on said 1101- low cylinder and providing pes for the paper punched by said dies and a a with the interior of said cylinder, means for removing the punched paper from inside said hollow cylinder, and means for axially adjusting said base cylinderfi 11. A printing press in combination with a hollow cylinder provided with a plurality of dies for perforating paper about predetermined centers, a die base cylinder co-operating with said dies to perforate the paper, said dies being adapted to pierce through said paper and into said base cylinder, and means for adjusting said hollow cylinder about its axis to prevent repeated piercing of the base cylinder in the same place by said dies.

12. In a printing press, the combination of printing rolls adapted to receive a continuous web, punching mechanism providing shearing indicia for said web, saidpunching mechanism comprising a die carrying cylinder, dies secured on said cylinder and adapted to press into a die base cylinder, said die base cylinder comprising a plu-' rality of hollow segments adapted to be positioned around a core cylinder, and means for removi ably securing said segments together to form a fabricated surface into which the dies are pressed. 

